


Out of Reach

by bambi1994



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, YouTube, rumbelle youtube fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-18
Updated: 2014-12-28
Packaged: 2018-02-17 20:55:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2322893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bambi1994/pseuds/bambi1994
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Non-magical AU: On a normal, Saturday afternoon, Calder Gold discovers one of the internet’s cutest YouTube vloggers, and can’t keep himself from falling in love with her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hey Bookies!

**Author's Note:**

> Oh hey guys, I accidentally started another chapter story. I swear I haven’t forgotten about We’re No Masterpiece, I’m just currently stuck on the multiple ways I want to take the next chapter since it’ll focus more on Calder and Baelfire, thus making it a bit trickier to write. Anyways, I got this idea while I was sitting and marathoning OUAT with my dad the other day, who’s never seen the show, and absolutely fell in love with it. I couldn’t get the idea of Belle being this adorable YouTuber that Gold finds by accident out of my head. So I hope you guys like it as much as I do lol Thanks once again to Megan, Morgan, and Sammy for reading this over for me and being my lovely betas uwu I’ve also set the rating as explicit because of events that happen later and it’s better to be safe now so I won’t forget later on lol

Every Saturday afternoon, Calder Gold could always be found reading The Daily Mirror at his kitchen table with a cup of coffee, while his son spent his Saturday afternoons in the computer room. It was something Calder had grown accustomed to once he had transformed his small home office into their own makeshift computer room. He barely used the office room as it was, and figured he could give it a better purpose by turning it into a computer room that Baelfire or himself could use at their own leisure.

When a sudden knock on his front door threw Calder off, and caused him to look up from his paper. Rarely anybody stopped by the Gold household willingly for Calder, so he assumed it was someone for Baelfire, but even then it was an odd thing. The knocking continued to increase as Calder folded the newspaper on the kitchen table and made his way to the front door. Upon opening said front door, Calder wasn’t too surprised that the person on the other side was Emma Nolan.

“Hey Mr. Gold, is Neal home?” she asked as she stuffed her hands into her red, leather jacket.

It was odd seeing Emma Nolan standing on his doorstep without his son standing next to her. Normally the two would hang out after school in the living room or over at the Nolan’s, so it threw off Calder’s Saturday routine of having her be here. Though he assumed it was a good thing she was here and could pull Baelfire away from the computer screen.

“Aye, dearie. I’ll go get him for you.”

Calder turned away from Emma, leaving her in the doorway, and headed toward the computer room where Baelfire had been since he got up. The walk wasn’t too long, something Calder was thankful for since the computer room was on the first floor, and only down the narrow hall.

“Bae-” Calder said once he pushed the semi-open door wide enough to slip in through.

“Papa, it’s Neal.” Baelfire replied, not once taking his eyes off of the computer screen.

The sudden name change that Baelfire had taken to recently was still a bit of a shock to Calder whenever his son would correct him. He was aware that his name was odd, though so was his own, but Calder had wanted to keep the tradition of the Gold family when Baelfire was born by giving their children strong, Celtic names due to their Scottish heritage. Calder was fully aware that none of the kids made fun of Baelfire for his name within Storybrooke, mostly in the fear that Calder could strike toward them or their parents, but he had a feeling that this sudden name change had to do with a certain friend of his.

“Right…” Calder shifted on his feet, recomposing himself before he spoke again. “Neal,” Calder began, biting back the growing void,  “what’re you doing?”

“Watching a video.”

“A video of what?”

“Nothing really.”

“Well, if you keep sitting here and watching nothing, you’ll miss Emma. Are you two working on a school project?” Usually Baelfire would tell him about these things before they happened, but he figured it slipped his mind with his upcoming school exams.

“...something like that.” Baelfire replied.

“Ahh, is it something I can help you two with?”

“Nope, gotta go, papa.”

Before Calder could respond, his son was rushing past him to the front door. A small chuckle came out of Calder, glad to see his son excited and off the computer, as he stepped into the computer room to shut down the still on computer. Calder planned on texting his son later to find out what he was doing and how long he was going to be out. If it had been anybody but Emma Nolan that came over to ask Baelfire to hang out with, Calder wouldn’t have let Baelfire go so easily and made sure he knew all the details. The Nolan’s girl was about the only child Calder trusted his son with so easily, her parents being good people who he sometimes didn’t mind running into even though he would never openly admit it, and she seemed to get on well with his son.

He couldn’t help but wonder why the sudden change in their normal Saturday routine went under his nose, but again Calder assumed that Baelfire was busy studying for exams that it had slipped his mind. When he reached the computer, curiosity overcame him as his eyes quickly gazed over the bright screen.

“What’s this?” Calder muttered after he sat down in the desk chair.

On any other occasion Calder wouldn’t be caught snooping on his son’s privacy, despite how he prided himself on being an involved parent. Though when the chance cropped up where Baelfire forgot to close his internet tabs due to something distracting, Calder wasn’t going to object to a little snooping. Of course he’d never let Baelfire know this, it was Calder’s secret alone, and it wasn’t like he called his son out on any of his internet browsing history when he did check up on him. He just wanted to make sure his son was being safe and responsible with his internet usage, and not keeping anything of importance away from him.

Calder’s eyes scanned over the computer screen, trying to figure out what website his son was on, until he finally landed on the section with the video’s information. YouTube, he read when his eyes landed on the red and white logo. It was a new site his son had been on recently and had overheard him talking about one day when he picked Emma and him up from school once when the two were doing homework at the Gold household. If Calder recalled correctly, the website was used as some kind of premise for people to talk about their own lives through videos, make short films or comedies, or simply film themselves playing video games. The whole idea didn’t make much sense to Calder, he couldn’t understand why people would film themselves doing those things for complete strangers, but he figured if it made his son happy he couldn’t object unless he found a solid reason to do so.

As he looked at the video, he couldn’t help but be intrigued by the girl within the small rectangle. She had beautiful dark, almost auburn, hair coupled with the most beautiful blue eyes Calder had ever seen. Those eyes were practically transfixing, begging anybody who looked into them to stop what they were doing to solely focus on them. Her complexion was milky white and was reflected by the bright lights she had pointed on her and looked as soft as peach fuzz. In total, she was breathtakingly beautiful in Calder’s eyes. He had never seen a more beautiful woman in all his lifetime, let alone one as intriguing as the woman on the screen.

The instant he felt himself being drawn in, Calder dismissed the thoughts. This was some woman on the internet, alongside plenty of other women that were also on the internet, but there was something about her that kept nagging Calder to pay attention. His eyes moved down the screen as he looked for some context behind as to who the woman on the monitor was. The initial finding of said information took Calder a bit longer than he was willing to admit, but he was able to put a name, username in this case, to her face.

“Bookybelle…” he read aloud. “Kind of a cheesy name,” he scoffed, “What Girls Like in Guys…. What the hell is Bae watching?”

It wasn’t that Calder was upset with his son watching someone on this website, a beautiful someone he might add, talking about subjects like this, but it was more so that his son was watching videos for advice on girls when his own father lived in the same household and was there to talk to. Sure he’d never had the best relationship with women, what with his first wife, Baelfire’s mother, leaving them when she lost interest in Calder and being a mother in general, and his failed rebound relationship with Cora Mills, but he certainly knew how most women worked in theory and what they generally liked. It hurt his pride knowing his son didn’t trust him enough to open up, considering Calder knew about his son’s not-so-secret crush on the Charming’s, the town’s nickname for the Nolan family, daughter Emma, but he swallowed those thoughts for another day. Right now Calder was far more interested in what advice this Bookybelle was giving on what women liked so he could try and casually talk to Baelfire about it later if he didn’t agree with this woman.

Calder’s hand hovered over the computer’s mouse hesitantly, he couldn’t pinpoint where the sudden nervousness came from, and dragged the little white circle to the beginning of the video and clicked play.

 _“Hey Bookies!”_ the woman’s cheerful voice said.

“Bookies? How ridiculous...” Calder muttered. If there was one thing Calder couldn’t stand it was cheeky, cute gimmicks, and this woman had already hit the mark on that.

_“Today I want to talk to you guys about what girls like in guys, or more so what I like in guys. I know these videos have been controversial lately, but I kept getting requests on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr to do one so here we are.”_

“So you’re subcomming to the demands of others then? This advice sounds promising.” he scoffed.

 _“Alright,”_ the woman on the screen began, but before she continued a ‘warning’ effect appeared over her and caused Calder to groan, _“Again, what I’m focusing on here is what I generally like in guys since not everybody is the same, and you guys can take what you want from it. So, here we go.”_

Already a minute into this YouTube video, and Calder hoped that Baelfire hadn’t taken any of this advice to help him out with wooing Emma Nolan.

_“So, girls typically like it when guys treat them as actual people. Don’t treat them like they’re an object that you can easily throw away when you’re done and have what you want.”_

Calder couldn’t believe what he was watching, he admitted that the advice so far was already far better than what he initially had thought, because the woman on the screen was waving her hands around like a madwoman as the video went on. Whenever she talked her hands would fly up and exaggerate her points, and the more he watched her talk the more it chipped away at Calder’s resolve. He had to admit that the woman was even more breathtaking as she talked about things she was passionate about, even when her accent, that he was just now noticing, sped up slightly while she talked.

_“Another thing girls like is when you take actual interest in the things we like. It sucks when you’re in a conversation with someone and they’re obviously not interested in what you’re saying, so why wouldn’t you do the same for someone you like? Even if it’s something you have no clue about, like oh I don’t know makeup for example, at least make the effort to listen to her and ask questions on things you don’t understand. If it’s something she’s passionate about, she’s bound to explain it to you and be even more excited that you’re taking interest in something she likes.”_

She had a good point, Calder thought. The woman, whom Calder assumed her name was Belle from the username and took to calling her that, actually had advice that he would’ve given to Baelfire himself. Calder was overall impressed, more than he originally thought, as he continued to listen to Belle.

At that moment it was then that her accent sunk into Calder. He hadn’t been listening too much to it prior, more focused on what his son was gaining from these videos, and now that he had relaxed a bit the accent flowing from the computer speakers wormed its way into Calder’s ears. She was obviously not from Maine originally, or the States in general, with an accent like that, Calder thought. Her accent was more of an Australian one the more he listened to her speak. The accent on top of her lower voice was like dripping honey, thickness mixed perfectly with sweetness.

 _“Alright Bookies, this is Belle signing off and saying read more books.”_ she said, waving yet again to the screen, before she was replaced with a screen that led to her other videos.

The vocalization of hearing her speak her name, Belle, as Calder had already suspected, confirmed caused a stirring of emotions to well up in his stomach. Calder hadn’t realized how close to the end of the video he had gotten to, distracted by just watching and listening to her and not absorbing her words, but he was curious to what other videos she had that he could watch. He told himself it was so he could make sure that Belle’s videos didn’t have any content that he should steer Baelfire from, but he knew deep down he was going to watch another one so he could hear her talk more.

The next one he clicked on, entitled Meet My Boyfriend, put a small damper on his heart. Which confused Calder because there was no way someone like her would even think of someone like him in that way, and she was just someone on the internet that probably lived nowhere near him. Calder shook his head as the video started up, opening in a similar fashion as the last one did, and lost himself as she spoke. That feeling was immediately interrupted though when her apparent oaf of a boyfriend spoke up.

 _“Yeah babe,”_ he began, _“your viewers are right. You should focus on doing more beauty tip vids because you’re so hot.”_

 _“Gaston,”_ she turned to face him, her face hard, _“I like sticking with my book and advice videos though.”_

Calder internally gagged as he watched Gaston try and convince her to do whatever these beauty tip videos were. It made him swell with anger the more he tried to convince her, especially when he would poke her face or nose in what was apparently a cute action because Belle would giggle at them while still refusing. If the video was any longer than the two and a half minutes, Calder would’ve stopped watching then because he only wanted to watch Belle speak and not her big goon of a boyfriend.

Gaston wasn’t even that attractive, he seemed to be lacking a brain, and Calder didn’t want any more to do with him. It was obvious that Belle had in mind what she wanted to do in her videos, and Gaston wouldn’t drop it. The fact in that alone was enough to make Calder’s rage bubble. She doesn’t deserve that, he thought bitterly as he clicked on a different video in haste. Calder hoped her boyfriend wouldn’t be in this one as the page was loading.

The video started out just as the other two had, Belle’s little intro cheerful as ever, though something was a bit off. Calder’s eyes narrowed as she continued to speak, wanting to try and figure out what felt off before she got into the bulk of her video.

 _“Okay, so you guys were asking what happened to Gaston over Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr. Well, in short, we called it off because of a lot of factors that came into place and it just wasn’t working out.”_ Belle said.

Calder noticed a quick flash of sadness sweep over her eyes before she transitioned into what she was saying next. On one hand, Calder wanted to comfort her for whatever happened between the two, but on the other hand he wanted to jump for joy, as much as his bad leg would let him, around the computer room because Gaston wasn’t in her life. Which was an odd feeling considering Calder had only watched three of her videos and he wasn’t even sure if she lived in or near Storybrooke.

_“It’s alright though, if it was meant to be it would’ve happened. But on the plus side, I did go into Boston today and buy a bunch of things that I wanted to share with you!”_

His ear instantly perked up at what Belle had just said. Boston, so she lives near here, Calder assumed. The odds of her living in Storybrooke were slim to none, let alone her even living close to a small town like Storybrooke, but Calder held onto that hope that she did. The town wasn’t that big and Calder didn’t pay close attention to many people in the town unless they had some kind of tie to him, so it wouldn’t surprise him if Belle had slipped right past his vision if she in fact did live in Storybrooke.

_“I don’t leave Storybrooke too often because it’s so lovely here and I can order anything I want from offline, but today was one of those days where you just have to take a mini day trip to a close by city and just shop.”_

Calder had to pause the video at that point, not believing what his ears had just heard. Belle actually lived in Storybrooke, this lovely woman who made videos for YouTube actually lived in the same town as him. Calder was thanking every deity he knew existed for whatever odds had lined up perfectly for this to happen. He swore that he’d let all his tenants have an extra week for their next rent payment if he was able to find her within the small town. Though he wasn’t sure if at this point it was to thank Belle for the wonderful advice she had provided Baelfire with or for himself so he could actually get to know her. Whatever happened though, Calder was extremely giddy that she was in close vicinity of him.

As the video went on Calder felt himself craving more Belle. The growing need felt raw and animalistic the more he heard her talk about whatever it was in the video. The moment one video finished, Calder was automatically clicking another one. By the time Calder was on the tenth video of Belle’s he was hooked. The more he watched, the more he fell in love with her and wanted to get to know her in Storybrooke instead of the internet. Yet he was also afraid of finding her in Storybrooke and talking to her. He was worried that she wouldn’t be interested in either a friendship or a romantic relationship considering he was twice her age.

Calder wasn’t even sure how to start a conversation with her if even did run into her. It’s not like he could go right up to her and say he’s watched her on YouTube and was currently going through the tedious setups for social media accounts solely to follow her in an attempt to be close with her in a virtual sense.

The whole notion in retrospect was ridiculous to Calder, but he couldn’t stop himself. He craved her virtual presence like it was the air that filled his lungs. While he sifted through her Twitter feed, another concept he was familiar with from overhearing his son and Emma talk about it in the car, Calder smiled at her hundred forty character updates. The little quips and recommendations she made in the limited space alongside all the other updates she posted on various social sites only fueled the burning desire Calder was developing.

After Calder had signed up for all the same social media sites that Belle was on and watched all of her videos, reality set in. He looked down at the time on the computer’s screen and his body stiffened. It had been six hours since he had started watching Belle’s videos, Baelfire had been gone since twelve to hang out with Emma, and all he had done since then was practically internet stalk this poor woman. Though, for some reason, Calder didn’t feel as sleazy as he thought he would once he put it into perspective. It wasn’t like he was going to actually track her down in Storybrooke, though he had considered it for a fleeting moment, and only wanted to have more of her presence in his life.

“Papa, I’m home.”

Baelfire’s voice startled Calder, and threw him into a panic of shutting down all the tabs that had social media sites opened on them.

“Papa, where are you?”

“Uh, I’m in the computer room Ba-Neal.” Baelfire’s name change still pained Calder, but not as much this time when he said it. Within a few moments, leaving no time for Calder to over think things again, Baelfire stuck his head in the small computer room.

“What are we doing for dinner?” Baelfire asked after he stuck his head through the open door.

Calder turned to face his son, thankful for the distraction from internet stalking Belle. “Well my boy, what sounds good to you?”

“Can we order pizza?”

“Sure, Bae.”

“Papa, I want to be called Neal.” His son’s face looked a little annoyed, but Calder tried to hide the small disappointment that crept into his heart through a smile.

“I know, but you’ll always be Baelfire to me.” Calder replied.

“Whatever,” Baelfire said, “is it okay if Emma stays for dinner?”

“I don’t see why not, Bae.”

“Thanks, papa.”

Baelfire smiled before running back to the living room, Calder assumed he was telling Emma she could stay longer, and smiled in turn. Once Calder was sure his son was back in the living room, he turned back to the computer. A sigh slipped past his lips as he pulled the internet browser up and typed in the address for YouTube. He was instantly met with Belle’s face again after going to her channel profile and felt a dopey smile spread across his face. This internet crush was beginning to grow out of hand, especially since he knew they both lived in the same town after watching her videos, and Calder didn’t know where he stood on the grounds of pursuing his feelings when he clicked on a random video of hers to watch again.

_“Hey Bookies!”_


	2. Virtual Love

Soft laughter rang throughout the Gold household, mostly in part of Baelfire and Emma in the living room, but there was an occasional chuckle from the computer room as Calder was practically glued to the machine. It was yet another Saturday, and the course of the day was far different than Calder was used to. The day had already started out strange by Baelfire having Emma come over early to hang out and work on some new school project, something Calder highly doubted was getting done by the giggles he could hear from the living room, and that after the two had their usual morning breakfast Calder had went straight into the computer room. Every moment Calder would steal himself away to the small room he would tell Baelfire that he was transferring all his handwritten documents from the shop to digital ones when questioned. Something told Calder that if he told his son that he was secretly watching a YouTuber, one that his son was apparently aware of, would be too embarrassing of a topic to dive in to.

Throughout the week Calder had been constantly checked into some kind of internet connection so he could receive updates on anything Belle was posting. It was almost as if he wasn't connected to Belle over the internet, he might as well have been cut off from breathing. In hindsight the growing addiction to her face, voice, everything she was, he felt nestling inside of him started to become a slight problem. She didn't post anything apart from her videos on a regular basis, Calder immediately noted, but the moment she did Calder was there the second it was up to view whatever it was that she had shared with the world. Calder would always try and pay acknowledgement to her online presence when she made herself known by sending a tweet back, liking a post of hers on her Facebook fan page, or sending her an ask to her Tumblr.

The first initial contact he had made with her through online had made Calder feel nervous and like he was out of touch with modern technology, but he mostly felt like he was somehow stalking her through his responses. The concept of being able to see someone's thoughts through internet posts had thrown his mind for a loop, and still did whenever Belle would update her social media. It was almost as if he was getting a glimpse into her thoughts, even if they were mostly about the things she was working on for upcoming videos, and Calder took enjoyment that he being able to see them. In his mind though, the only downside to this situation was that a thousand others did too. Calder had to constantly remind himself that, in spite of this, that he really didn't know her outside of her internet persona and had to take solace in that he was even able to have a taste of her through that alone.

When he pushed past the awkwardness of replying to a tweet Belle had made, one about something she referred to as an ootd, a term in itself that Calder had to look up to understand what she was even tweeting about, and told himself it wasn’t that big of a deal if he responded. Besides it wasn’t like she’d single out his tweet in specific due to her rather large following, Calder told himself after he pressed the send button. His response was a simple one, he had decided that telling her the outfit she was wearing looked nice on her wasn’t too creepy, and after he looked through other people’s responses, Calder felt better about responding to Belle’s social media posts. It made his blood boil slightly as he read other people’s response, as if he even had a right to feel that way toward these people he had never met, let alone like he needed to protect Belle, and he would have to ignore what vulgar comments would get thrown toward her to save face.

Every time these thoughts plagued him, Calder would have to remind himself that he was just another person in this large crowd and couldn't do anything to extent of defending Belle. The idea of even doing something to that extent caused Calder's skin to crawl because it felt like it fell under that category of internet stalking her, which was the one thing he was trying to avoid.

_Bookies, don't forget I'm doing a quick Q &A video this week, so send in your questions! :)_

Calder's eyes read over the tweet that appeared on the screen. This was the first time she had tweeted something like this since he had started following her, and Calder wasn’t sure what he’d want to ask her or if he’d even send a question in. He had watched her past Q&A videos, through those he had learned even more about her and they were probably Calder’s favorite videos Belle would post, and had secretly hoped he’d have the opportunity to send in a question of his own. Now was his chance though, the opportunity was literally staring him in the face. Damn his morals on the vagueness of what counted and didn't count as internet stalking, he was going to send in a question. Though Calder didn't have a question that would've been deemed appropriate at the metaphorical distance between them. It wasn't like he could ask her on a date through one of her social media account, though he didn't doubt many others had tried, and he didn't want to be lumped together with those people, and nothing was coming to his mind.

"Hey, papa?"

Baelfire's sudden voiced caused Calder to jump slightly and to minimize the internet tab that had Belle's face plastid practically all over it.

"What'd you need, Bae?"

His son's face contorted a bit, "Could you take this book back to the library for me while you collect rent today? Emma and I are going to go to her house to work on our project there and we can't really waste time by dropping off a book."

Calder had forgotten that it was the last Saturday of the month; most of his thoughts had consisted of Belle lately, and would have to eventually finish the task.

"Sure, Bae." Calder said.

Baelfire looked like he wanted to say something, and Calder assumed it most likely had to do with the new name thing. No matter how much Calder tried to give his son everything he wanted, things that he himself never could've dreamed about having as a kid, but this was the one thing he wouldn't budge on.

"Thanks, papa. The book's on the coffee table."

"Are you heading out now then?" Calder asked.

"Yeah, Emma's parents are here to take us over there."

"Alright, let me know how you're getting home tonight then and if I need to pick you up."

"Kay."

His son didn't wait any longer before he rushed back out into the living room to tell Emma they were set to leave. Calder still wasn't sure how to deal with the fact his son was beginning to take an interest in someone, someone he'd end up dating or was already doing so and keeping it a secret, but he had little experience as to how he should act as a parent to this new chapter of his son's life. He felt like drawing experiences from his own dating life wouldn't help Baelfire with his current situation, a good chunk of Calder's romantic relations hadn't ended in the way he had hoped they would, and Calder could've really used some advice on how to give advice to his son on dating.

The second that thought appeared in his mind, the question he knew he should ask Belle for her video made itself clear. It was such a simple thing he could ask, and word so he wouldn't sound too creepy or tip Baelfire off if he happened to watch that video of hers, that it was almost too perfect. His fingers shook with anticipation as he opened the link to her Tumblr page and wrote out this question.

_I have a friend who's very interested in a friend of his. He hasn't exactly told me that he likes her, but I want to be able to give him the best advice that I can. What should I do?_

Calder looked at the text on the screen before he clicked the 'ask' button and felt pleased enough with the question. He had worded it in such a way that he would know the true intention of the question if Belle answered it in her video. His eyes flashed down to the corner of the screen to check the time, it was just past noon, and he figured he should start his rounds of rent collecting. Calder made sure to click the 'ask' button before shutting the computer down and proceeded to stand up from the desk area.

The stiffness in his body made itself known while he shifted all his weight into his cane. How long had he been sitting in front of that screen, he wondered idly as he walked into the living room. Calder figured it would probably be a good thing that he was going to walk into town today to collect rent because it'd help limber his muscles up. Besides, it wasn't like the property he owned within Storybrooke wasn't within close walking distance, and it'd give Calder a better chance to look for Belle while in town as opposed to constantly getting in and out of a car. If he walked throughout Storybrooke he could focus on the town's people, and not the road, alongside getting some exercise.

The now empty living room felt off, Baelfire was usually here watching TV or doing some homework on the Saturdays that Calder would leave to collect rent, but it felt bare without his presence. So much had changed within the last week, Calder wasn't sure if all of these changes were for the better or worse yet, and Calder figured he'd have to get used to eventually now that Baelfire was growing older.  He pushed the thought away, not wanting to deal with all these changes right now, and let his eyes drift over to the book he was supposed to drop off at the library today for his son.

Calder walked over to the table to pick said book up, and wondered why he had never actually been to the library in Storybrooke. It wasn't like he spent a lot of time doing in anything in his shop and had a lot of free time outside of his work. Well, he did, before he spent most of his free time watching Belle's YouTube videos. The Storybrooke library was also one of the few properties Calder didn't own so it wasn't a surprise that he had only gone by in passing of the establishment. Despite his own lack of interest, Calder was pleased though that his son seemed to spend some of his time outside of school there and not solely with Emma.

As he held the book, weighing how heavy it was, Calder decided that he could simply slip the small book in his coat's pocket and take it to the library as his last stop. He didn't think they'd be closed by the time he was finished collecting rent, he usually finished around three if his bad leg would cooperate with him, and if Calder remembered correctly the library closed around eight on Saturdays. He'd have time to drop the book off and be back in time to start dinner, Calder thought as he left his home and faced the brisk Maine air.

The walk into town wasn't very exciting, Calder kept his eyes open for Belle in case she happened to be out and in his vicinity, but nothing out of the ordinary happened on his ritual journey into town for rent collection. The usual threatening looks he received from Storybrooke's inhabitants had gone unnoticed by Calder, when the town considered you to be the town monster you got used to it, something Calder always reminded himself of, and so far none of them had been Belle. Very few people in this town rarely received more than the facade Calder put up, the main person being his son, but he liked it that way. It meant that most people wouldn't bother him.

Though, now that he was thinking about it as he stopped by each of his properties, he wondered if he had ignored Belle at any point prior to watching her videos. Surely he would've noticed someone as beautiful and sweet as her while passing by in Storybrooke, he thought. Calder was usually on auto-pilot when in town, not having the energy to actually put up with the town's citizens, but there was no way he'd have let Belle slip past. Her overall self was enough to pierce through the worst of Calder's auto-piloted days, but that hadn't been the case in all his time in Storybrooke. Even as he grew more annoyed at each establishment with the lack of Belle, it seemed like an impossible task to find the brunette girl.

At each place Calder would go through his typical actions of collecting rent, most of them being threats of raising the rent of certain tenants, and when they'd go to collect the amount Calder would mask his frantic looking for Belle. His search wouldn't last too long though, due to most of the tenants already having their money ready and close by, and Calder could feel himself visibly growing irritated as he visited each tenant's building. Calder was beginning to think that his search for Belle in Storybrooke was growing hopeless. Each building only left him with disappointment when she wasn't there, and Calder had to stop his hopes from getting up when he entered a new building.

The last stop on his list before the library was Granny's building. This was his last chance of finding Belle before he went back home, and he couldn't be let down here. He took a deep breath before pushing past the diner's door. Calder was instantly greeted with the warmth of the diner that challenged the brisk air outside. The diner seemed to be steady in its business today, considering it was a Saturday and this was the only diner in town, and that meant the possibility of Belle being here was far more likely than Calder's other tenant's businesses.

"What brings you in, Mr. Gold?" Granny asked.

Granny looked slightly confused to see Calder in her diner, but quickly changed expressions when Calder took a step closer to the counter.

"I'm here for the month's rent, dearie."

"Ahh, well you're in luck today. Got all the rent right here for ya, Mr. Gold." she said, pulling up an envelope from underneath the counter.

Shit, Calder thought, if she gave him the rent now instead of having to look for it that meant he couldn't use that time to look for Belle inside the diner. He'd knew he'd have to think fast if he wanted to use his last chance to desperately seek out the girl that had alluded him all day.

"While I'm here, dearie, why don't I order a cup of black coffee to go?" Calder asked as he plucked the envelope from Granny's hands.

"Well what's gotten into you today, Mr. Gold? Usually just take the rent and run off to your dark castle." she joked.

Calder gave her the blankest expression he could to show how unamused he was at her comment. It wasn't like he could blatantly say that he was also here to look for a girl, one that everybody in this town except for him was familiar with, without sounding like he was stalking the poor thing. Coffee was the next best excuse he could muster up without letting his true intentions slip through.

"One coffee then, coming up."

Relief washed over Calder's body as she turned her attention toward making his coffee and dropped the subject completely. Calder let his body relax then and casually took a look around the diner's patrons. The only people in the diner were Ruby, not a surprise, the Boyd family, seemingly to all have a schedule that allowed them some family time, and a few other usual patrons. None of them were Belle though, and Calder would've left then if he hadn't already ordered a coffee.

"Coffee, Mr. Gold." Granny said as if reading his mind.

Calder pulled out a five from his wallet and passed it over the counter. He watched as Granny took the bill and opened the cash register.

"Keep the change." Calder said and turned on his heels to leave. At that moment he didn't care that much about the measly two dollars and then some change he would've gotten back. All he wanted was to see Belle and he'd had nothing but disappointment all day. He shouldn't have expected to even see her today, but Storybrooke was a small enough town that he should've bumped into her at some point. Calder was about to start heading back home, so he could wallow in some self pity before he started making dinner, but the book in his inner coat pocket pressed against his chest when he pulled his coat close. First he'd drop off this book for Baelfire, then he could go home and wallow in all the self-pity that he wanted, and maybe watch one of Belle's videos to make himself feel better about the day's events.

His walk over to Storybrooke's library wasn't very long, considering it was one of the closest buildings to the diner, and Calder tried to not think of Belle as he opened the door to the building. Again he was met with warmth, but it was different than the diner's warmth. The heat from the library was almost more comforting than that of the diner's, despite its lack of people inside. It felt like it had its own source of warm sunshine radiating from the bookshelves, but Calder knew that idea was ridiculous the moment he thought it. The librarian in charge probably had the heat turned up more than Granny did in her diner, Calder thought as he walked up to the circulation counter.

Calder stood at the counter for a moment before he noticed that there wasn't anybody in sight to help him. Sure he could've left the book on the counter and the person in charge could've figured out that it was a return, but Calder had a feeling that he should physically turn it into a librarian.

"Hello? I'd like to return a book?" Calder called out, hoping he'd catch the attention of somebody in the quiet establishment.

"Be there in a second." a voice from somewhere in the library replied.

The voice sounded friendly, almost soothing, Calder noted. It almost seemed familiar, but he brushed the notion aside and pulled the book out from his coat pocket. He let his eyes wander around the dimly lit library and soak in the multitudes of shelves. Not much lighting to read over texts I suppose, but it's better than nothing, Calder thought. He started to wonder why he hadn't visited the library more often, it felt soothing to be here and was probably one of the few places Calder had felt this comfortable in. If he didn't know any better, he could see himself spending his own lunch breaks here and even picking up reading again.

"You said you had a book to return, correct?" a woman's voice, closer now, said, pulling Calder out of his thoughts.

As he turned to face the woman, his jaw grew slack. Before him stood the person he had been looking for the entire afternoon. Calder felt stupid for not stopping by the library in the first place, it made so much sense for her to be in the library.

"Sir?"

"Oh, uhm, yes. I'm returning a book for my son, Baelfire."

"Oh, Baelfire! He's always in here reading with his friend Emma, good kid you have too. Though I remember him going by the name Neal?"

"Yeah, that's a new thing." Calder muttered.

"Well, your son's a very avid reader and always asking for new books to read." she said.

"Aye, that sounds like Bae."

"I'll just take that book from you then and you can be on your way."

The moment Calder had been looking to all day was happening and happening too fast. When he handed the book over to the librarian, it'd be over and he'd have to be on his way. The book slipped past his hands and into the woman's, and before he knew it she was moving past him toward the circulation desk behind him.

"Uhm, wait." Calder said, turning his body to face where she had gone off to.

"Yes, Mister..." she started.

"Mr. Gold, but you can call me Calder if you want." Calder finished for her. Damn formalities, Calder already felt like he knew her from watching her YouTube videos and like they could already skip to pet names at this point.

"Okay, Calder, my name's Belle French. We can just stick with Belle though, Miss French sounds too formal." she said with a giggle.

God, she was even cuter in person, Calder thought. It took him a beat to gather himself so he could reply.

"Belle," he said, testing her name against his lips, "could you recommend some books for me? I haven't read too much apart from the daily paper, and don't know where to start."

"Well, you happen to be in luck since that's one of the many things I do for a living." Belle said with another giggle. If this wasn't their first meeting, Calder would've mentioned that he knew she made YouTube videos, but that thought was instantly shoved away when she spoke again. "What kind of books do you typically enjoy?"

"I'm not too set on any one genre, though I really have a liking for fantasy and period pieces."

"Alright, well I have just the section for you then! Follow me."

Calder followed behind Belle silently, hardly registering that this was real and not a dream. This woman that had stolen his heart, the woman he had sent replies to through a computer screen was helping him find books. Now that he knew Belle worked in the library, he'd have to make more frequent stops on his lunch breaks and way home. Finally he could have a real conversation with her and her full attention without having to fight for it via the internet. Calder made a mental note to thank Baelfire for not being able to drop off his book today because this was the best thing his son could've given him without even knowing. The only problem now was if Calder spent more time getting to know Belle in real life and if she'd return his feelings for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two already you guys, wow. I'm so pleased with how everybody seems to have taken a real liking to this AU because that just makes me so happy and just ;A; [gets all sentimental] but shout-out again to Megan, Morgan, and Sammy for betaing this again for me, you guys are the best prepz I could ask for LOL
> 
> Also, if anybody’s interested, I’m taking prompts for this verse in my ask box on tumblr. So if you have any questions for the characters or have any prompts from this verse, I’m totally open to writing them, and even small spin off prompts from other characters in the verse are welcome too! Tumblr url is dinkleberg-senpai uwu
> 
> So uhm, yeah thank you so much for reading this and subscribing. It means a lot that people really like this concept!!! <3333


	3. How To: Ask a Girl on a Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowie, I am so sorry this has taken me so long to update. I’ve had a good chunk of this written a long time ago, but I got so busy with school work that I didn’t have energy to update anything or even start anything. I’m back though with the next installment, and I should hopefully have the next chapter up sometime soon since I’ve been very busy with writing. Idk what’s happened to me this break, but I’ve been the most productive I’ve ever been in months lol Anyways, please enjoy and leave suggestions for any side prompts you’d like to see be done after this fic is over ^^

 

Weeks had passed since Calder had discovered Belle in Storybrooke's library, and within those few weeks Calder had spent most of his free time between Belle and the shelved towers. Even in this new way to experience Belle's presence, Calder still couldn't get enough of her; and he continued to watch her YouTube videos outside his time in the library when he wasn't at work or with Baelfire — though not in a creepy way, he kept reminding himself. Each time he would pull up a new video, Belle typically updated once a week, he would secretly hope Belle would somehow mention him in a video — again, not in a creepy way. He only wanted to know if she thought about him as much as he thought about her, but it was a long shot. They had only been having actual conversations for roughly three weeks now, but Calder was still holding out for it.

In his mind, if Belle mentioned him passingly in a video of hers, it would be a huge sign, that Belle thought of him as a friend and potentially more. The idea, of course, was ridiculous, Calder thought as he scrolled down Belle's channel. So far he hadn't slipped up in alerting Belle to the knowledge he possessed at his fingertips regarding her, but their relationship — if he could call it that — was still budding and he could easily fuck the whole thing up.

While he scrolled through her channel — seeing if she had uploaded a new video — considering it was Friday and her normal uploading day — Calder's mind began to drift toward all the possible ways he could ruin this friendship he had with Belle. A chill swept over his body as multiple scenarios played out in his mind. The most prominent one was that he wouldn't be able to hold in the fact that he watched her on YouTube — the information spewing out like chunks of lava — and that she'd be extremely creeped out. Calder's worst fear though was that Belle would accuse him of stalking her — which was still up for debate in his own mind — and that she'd push him away when they were starting to actually get to know each other outside of a computer screen, least beknownst to Belle.

Another big fear was that Belle would feel more threatened and scared than Calder had anticipated, and would actually contact the police to get him away from her. The fact that Calder was very obviously older than Belle too didn't help comfort him on this scenario. Let alone that most of the scenarios he played out in his mind consisted of Belle rejecting him in some form and calling him a stalker, thus putting himself in a metaphorical jail cell in his mind where he wouldn't be able to bother or see Belle for the rest of his days.

The more thought he put into it, the more anxious Calder grew about the next time he would meet with Belle. Each passing day he was closer to exploding with all the knowledge he had, but kept it under control when he thought of the possible consequences. It also didn't hurt to think of her last known boyfriend, Gaston — Calder retched at the mention of his name — and that that seemed to be her apparent type. Calder fit neither the brawn or young physique of that dimwit of a man that he had unknowingly begun to compare himself to, and thus kept himself grounded when he thought he would spill the truth to Belle. It was a reminder for himself — although not the most positive one he could have thought up — because it made Calder want to break things whenever he thought of the likes of someone like Gaston touching Belle, and that he was the last person Belle would pick to be with. That was enough comfort for Calder to keep his secret with watching her YouTube videos to himself when nothing else worked. This way he could always have Belle in a superficial way in contrast to his cowardice of even asking her out.

As he thought of the more ways he could potentially screw this up, a sudden knock on the computer room door pulled him back to reality. Calder blinked rapidly, eyes focusing on the computer screen, before he minimized the internet tab.

"Come in," Calder said, already knowing it was his son on the other side of the door.

Calder wasn't sure why he was acting like a teenager hiding porn on a computer — if anything Baelfire should be in his position — and it wasn't even like he was looking at porn in the first place. Well, unless someone decided to count looking at the town's pretty librarian on her YouTube channel a new form of pornogrophy, which was damn well near where Calder had grown with his slight obsession, he was in the clear.

"Papa, can you take another library book back for me?" Baelfire said as he opened the door.

"Bae, I've already taken back three books on three separate days for you. Why can't you take them yourself with Emma?"

That was the furthest thing from the truth in Calder's mind as the words came out of his mouth. Taking books back for his son gave him more excuses to see Belle outside of his lunch breaks — that he had opted to begin talking with Belle somewhere between the first and second week of friendship — and a chance to discuss what book Calder had recently checked out that Belle had recommended.

"Because I still have to work on my part of the school project we have."

"Am I ever going to figure out what this school project is?" If he was going to press for information on this mysterious project Baelfire was working on, now would be the time.

"It's a book project."

"I see," Calder nodded and stood up from the computer chair, "is that why you've been checking out all these books?"

"Yeah."

"And I suppose you can't take it over on your way to the Nolan's, assuming you're working on this mysterious book project there."

"No, you have to take it, papa."

His eyebrow quirked at that response. The library was close enough to the Nolan's house that it wouldn't be a problem for his son to stop by. Something was up, and Calder was going to get to find out exactly was going on. "Why's that, Bae?"

"I'm meeting Emma soon and won't be able to drop it off until tomorrow, and it's due today."

Calder shifted to grab his cane near the computer desk, eyeing his son, who was fidgeting slightly, curiously. He wasn't fully convinced, but he figured he could let his son off the hook because if he took the book back Calder would get to see Belle again.

"Alright, Bae. I'll drop it off for you, it's a good thing I needed to go into town soon anyways," Calder said with a light chuckle. His reasoning for going back into town, namely to see Belle again with his son's sudden asking of returning a book, didn't need to be said aloud to Baelfire. What his son didn't know about his own ulterior motives wouldn't hurt him, Calder told himself.

"Thanks, papa," Baelfire said with a smile.

"Do you want me to walk you over there?"

"No, it's okay. Emma's parents are picking me up in a few minutes."

"Okay, son."

A moment of silence fell between the two, not exactly an uncomfortable one, but more of an awkward silence. Before Calder could open his mouth to ask where the book was, the sound of a car horn honking interrupted him.

"That's Emma now. Are you going to take the book back?"

"Yes, Bae. Is it that urgent that it has to be turned back this instant?"

"I just don't want to get a fine is all," Baelfire said as he hung onto the door frame.

"I assure you my boy, it'll be turned in today, and if it doesn't I can strike a deal with the librarian to give you an extension."

"Papa—"

"I'm kidding," Calder said, waving his hand, "I'll go take it back now, so don't worry."

"Kay, it's on the table, I'll be back later, bye papa," he said, and disappeared from sight.

Calder shook his head, following at a slower pace behind his son. He was happy Baelfire had someone like Emma — even if he wasn’t going to admit it aloud yet to his papa — because she was a perfect match for him, though he’d never say that outloud. As much as he hated most people in this town, the Nolans were some of the people in this town he hated the least — and most had to do with his son.

That was the least of his concern though because now he was thought about how he’d have to see Belle soon. Calder wasn’t used to going to the library on Sundays, but he had promised his son he’d take the book back. Also having his own incentive for going was a reward in itself, so Calder figured there wouldn’t be any harm.

He picked up the book once he was in the living room — book sitting right where Baelfire said it would be — and put his coat on — book placed in the inside pocket — to begin his trek to the library. The weather wasn’t too bad, and Calder figured it was fine enough for him to walk over to the library today instead of driving — his leg wasn’t giving him much trouble either, and he took that as a good sign.

While he was walking to the library, the strange urge to ask Belle out came over him. He could figure out why the idea had sprung up — they had only talked for a few weeks at this point — and it wouldn’t leave his mind. All he could think about was how pretty she would look on a possibly date with him, and the fact that it was nearly impossible. She’d probably want someone like Gaston again — which Calder was far from — but the idea was still there by the time he arrived.

Calder stood outside the library — his son's book between his hands — and felt his nerves beginning to betray him. He wasn't sure if it was the fact that he was showing up outside of his daily lunch break and Saturdays — throwing him off of his new routine — or if it was that he had been trying to work up the nerve to ask Belle out the closer he was to the library since he couldn’t get it from his mind. The fact that it had remained the entire time he walked over her made it seem like he should just ask the question and get the rejection over with.

The building itself was intimidating enough to send him back home and make Baelfire return the book back himself. Calder could pay the late fee himself instead of having Baelfire take it out of his allowance — since it would be Calder’s fault for not returning the book — but he somehow managed to push through the library’s doors so he was standing amongst silence and books.

“Calder! I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon! What’s up?” Belle asked, popping up from behind the circulation desk.

Belle’s voice startled Calder — he didn’t expect her to notice him that soon.

“Uh, just returning a book for Baelfire,” he replied.

“Okay,” she smiled, “you can just leave it on the desk here and I’ll check it back in.”

Calder nodded — trying to work up the courage to ask her out — and walked to the circulation desk.

“Belle,” he paused, “can I ask you something?”

She looked at him like she was surprised, but nodded her head anyway. “Yeah, what’s up, Calder?”

Calder stared at her smiling face, there was no way he could ask her out. He was going to chicken out and end up disappointing himself by taking the safe option yet again.

“Well, what are you doing next Saturday?” he mumbled. He hoped that if he mumbled his request, Belle wouldn’t hear it and he could pretend like he had said something else instead.

“Working, as always, why? Is there a reason I need to not be working?”

He had no such luck, she had heard him and Calder would have to talk his way out of this one.

“No reason,” Calder replied.

“If I didn’t know any better, Calder, I’d say that you were trying to ask me out.”

His heart stopped. Had he been that obvious, he wondered. This couldn’t be happening, and he had to have been dreaming, fallen asleep beside the computer with a video of her pulled up.

“I, uhm, well—”

“Calder, seriously, relax. I’ve wanted to ask you out for a long time but wasn’t sure if you’d say yes to someone as young as me.”

Calder snorted at that — he had been thinking of asking her out the moment he found her on YouTube — and tried to relax.

“So, you have a thing for the town monster then is it, Miss French?”

“When you put it that way, it doesn’t seem that romantic. And you’re not a monster, Calder. You’re a very sweet man that I find attractive and would love to get to know better,” she said.

He smiled at that — the words that came out of her mouth didn’t make him believe any differently — but he was happy that his feelings were mutual. The pretty librarian that he had admired from a distance — both on the internet and across the circulation desk every day — was the one to ask him out.

“Well, can’t argue with a pretty face like that, I suppose.” Calder took his son’s book out of his jacket pocket and placed it on the counter. “So, what time do you want to take the beast out for a date?” he quipped.

“Hmmm, well I close at six on Saturdays here, would that work, or is that too late for the beast?” She smirked at him, and Calder couldn’t help but fall for her more in that moment.

“Watch it, dearie, this beast bites back.”

“Oh, I hope he does,” she said.

If Calder had been drinking something, that response would’ve had him choking. Sweet, little Belle didn’t seem like the kind of person who would say something like that, but he realized that he didn’t know too much about her apart from her internet persona and what he’d learned about her in the few weeks they had talked. He guessed anything was fair game at this point now, especially after the returned feelings of adoration.

“Well, ehm, that should be fine. Would you like me to pick you up here then?”

“That would be perfect,” she replied with a playful smirk.

“Alright, six next Saturday.” They stood there, staring at each other, in silence before Calder made his move to leave. “I guess I should be getting back, got a big day of working in the shop.”

“I bet you do, Calder. See you later,” Belle said with a wave.

As Calder was leaving, he couldn’t stop himself from smiling. He had actually asked — well been asked — Belle out for a date, and he was determined to not screw this chance up. Now all he had to do was flush a good chunk of the information he had learned from her videos so he could be the proper gentleman a woman like her deserved.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry it’s such a short update, but I promise the last chapter will be much better as we see Calder and Belle on their date. Yes, smut will happen because that’s the only way to act on a proper first date.


End file.
